Bioactivity and bioavailability of active peptides and aminoacids from krill protein hydrolysate (E. superba) in Caco-2 model

The safety and nutrient bioavailability of novel products from new or underutilized marine resources are some of the main parameters to define their possible applications for human consumption. Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) protein hydrolysate, produced by the Norwegian company Rimfrost and techno-functionally improved at CELABOR - Belgium, has promising protein composition, with presence of all essential amino acids.

Antioxidant capacity in the krill protein ingredient after simulated human digestion (INFOGEST static protocol) was studied by measuring ORAC (346 µM TE/g), ABTS (877 µM TE/g) and Total Polyphenol Content (TPC of 16.5 mg GAE/g) values. These were compared with values for antioxidant bioactivity of a pea protein concentrate (199 µM TE/g by ORAC; 748 µM TE/g by ABTS and TPC of 10 mg GAE/g), produced by Spanish company Sanygran.

The absorption of the digestates in a Caco-2 model was used to estimate, in an intercomparative study, the bioavailability of the total and branched chain amino acids.